


The Ultimate Academy for Gifted Monsters

by DragonCarnation



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:48:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28230417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonCarnation/pseuds/DragonCarnation
Summary: Having come from beyond the stars in a human-shaped guise, the outer entity Kaede Akamatsu is a lonely girl who wants nothing more than companionship. Thankfully, at the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Monsters, she'll easily be able to find some. As a school built to promote companionship and understanding between humans and the supernatural, the Ultimate Academy hosts classes for monsters (and a small number of humans), though one must be found by the academy's scouts first. However, there is a problem brewing within school grounds- rumor has it that a monster hunter has snuck in somehow and is planning to destroy the school from the inside out. Without any clues as to who this hunter is and what their motive is for doing so, the students of the Ultimate Academy are left fearing for their very lives. But does this rumor have any weight, or is it pure speculation?Tags will be updated as the story progresses.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i really hope i'll have enough motivation to update this fic this time... either way, i hope you all enjoy it!  
> feel free to leave comments, too! i'd love to know what you all think.

If Kaede wasn't feeling nervous, she certainly was now. She had never taken on such a form before- one that doesn't make ordinary mortals go mad just by looking at her- but in order to enroll in this school, she needed to conceal her true form. It wouldn't do any good if she ended up breaking her classmate's minds, after all.

Gripping her backpack, she took her first steps into the Ultimate Academy, her feet still unsteady. Compared to her vast, otherworldly true self, being confined to a human form felt unnatural. She felt like she was walking on eggshells with every movement, always being conscious of what every part of her was doing. It didn't help that she had no idea what her classmates were like, either. Given that Earth monsters were in the minority compared to humans, she expected them to be more understanding of her, though there was no guarantee.

One step, two steps. Her awkward, unsteady movements must have looked so strange to the other students. But she couldn't talk to them right now. She had to make sure that she didn't accidentally undo her own confinement. How could humans stand to be like this? She honestly didn't know. Silently, she checked the little device the school had provided her (a phone, they had called it), looking at the rules document that the headmaster had texted to her. All these rules were simple enough to understand- be kind to each other, don't litter, only those affiliated with the school are allowed in, things like that. The fact that there was an entire section on violence and weapons struck her as a tad odd, but perhaps this was just standard fare for schools to include. Something to be added, just in case it _does_ happen. Given how protected the Academy was, though, this was unlikely to be an issue.

As she looked up from her phone, Kaede started to worry a little. This wasn't the way to the gym, was it? She sighed, frustrated with herself. Maybe she should have pulled up the map first. It was about time for the opening ceremony, too... Grumbling to herself, she pulled up the map this time, checking where she needed to go. It wasn't helpful that there wasn't a function that told her where she was exactly, but she'd have to make do. As she turned to head in the direction that she hoped would lead to the gym, she heard someone 'psst' her from the shadows.

"Hey... you're another student here, aren't you?" A girl with blue hair and round glasses spoke, motioning for Kaede to come closer. "If you're lost, I can probably help you..."

Kaede squinted at the offer, carefully stepping towards the shadowed girl. "I thought everyone would be at the gym by now..." She quietly commented. "Are you lost, too?"

"Oh, no... I'm not lost. I'd just rather not go, that's all." The blue-haired girl stated. "I've seen opening ceremonies a bunch of times in anime, so I don't think I'll be missing out on much." She fidgeted nervously with her hands. "Besides, big crowds kind of overwhelm me... It's just a lot to deal with, you know?"

Again, Kaede eyed this girl suspiciously, unsure of what to make of her. She looked normal- almost too normal, in fact. "...What's your name?" She asked, hoping to glean something else out of her.

"I'm Tsumugi Shirogane. If you were wondering, I'm this class's lottery winner." Tsumugi replied, frowning a little. "I'm just a plain old human... There's not much else to say about me. Honestly, I'm pretty nervous about being here..." She continued, before realizing what she had offered to Kaede. "Oh, yeah! If you're looking for the gym, you'll want to head over to the left a little ways. It shouldn't take too long for you to get there if you hurry."

In all honesty, Kaede had a ton of questions for this girl, but she didn't have the time to ask them. Unless... Impulsively, she grabbed Tsumugi's hand, yanking her in the direction that she pointed in.

"H-Hey! Wait, I didn't-- Why are your hands so cold?!" Tsumugi exclaimed, struggling to free herself from Kaede's grasp. "I said I didn't want to-- Ow!"

"Come on, we're gonna be late!" Kaede said, ignoring Tsumugi's pleas. "This is our best opportunity to meet our classmates, and I'm not letting you skip out on it!" She continued to run as fast as her body would allow until they had finally gotten to the gym, at which point she finally let Tsumugi go.

"Owww... You didn't have to be so rough...!" Tsumugi groaned, gently rubbing her hand. "Why'd you have to do that, anyways...? I told you I didn't want to go..."

"And that's exactly why I dragged you all the way here!" Kaede retorted, pushing open the doors to the gym. "You can't just hole up and avoid people forever, even if you are nervous! Come on, let's go inside!" Again, she roughly grabbed Tsumugi's hand, pulling her inside the gym.

There were all kinds of monsters there, with students separated by class. In the crowd, one could hear the ruffling of feathers, voices both melodious and unnerving, the clanking of metal, and other such noises. There were also a few more humans, one for each class. Maybe that was what Tsumugi meant by her being a lottery winner? Either way, the two of them took a seat in their designated section- class 53, near the podium at the front of the gym.

Kaede sighed in relief, looking around at her classmates. It seemed like the two of them weren't the only ones who were late- there was one more spot open out of the sixteen chairs set up in this section. Before she had time to question their absence, however, she heard the sound of the podium's microphone being tapped and instantly paid attention. The ceremony was beginning.

Throughout the speech, Kaede noticed Tsumugi nervously looking around the area. She had said that she didn't do well with crowds... perhaps she was looking for a way out. In an attempt to comfort her, Kaede gently placed her own hand on her new friend's hand, but this only caused Tsumugi to shiver even more nervously. 

"Um... can you let go, please...? Your hand, it's... really cold." The human whispered, looking at Kaede but not maintaining eye contact. With a bit of hesitation, she let go, unsure of why Tsumugi was saying that she was cold. If anything, Tsumugi felt warm to the touch. Was being naturally warm a human thing? There was still a lot that she had to learn.

* * *

The rest of the ceremony was uneventful. After its conclusion, they were instructed to head to their dorms and get settled in. For the sake of protecting the students, they were to live on school grounds, where it was safe. There was also a strict curfew set into place- students could not leave school grounds past 9 PM without express permission from the headmaster, and had to be back at the school by 10 PM. A few of them argued that they could protect themselves, but these arguments were quickly shot down when monster hunters were brought up. It seemed that, despite the school's insistence on promoting the integration of monsters into human society, that there were still those who were... wary of them, to say the least.

Somewhere in all the commotion, Tsumugi had snuck away from Kaede, presumably to go hide in her dorm. Everyone else seemed to be heading in that direction, too... everyone except a green-haired boy, who was just standing there and swiping the screen of his own phone. Curiously, Kaede approached him, her steps less unsteady this time. "You're not going to your dorm?" She asked, tilting her head a bit.

"Ah... not yet, no." He said, putting his phone into his pocket. "I'm just texting a friend of mine. Don't want to get caught up in the crowd, either. Might lose an arm or two." He laughed casually. "Name's Rantaro Amami, by the way. And yours?"

At first, she felt a bit confused at his losing at arm comment, but didn't press the issue. "I'm Kaede Akamatsu!" She said proudly, extending her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Rantaro."

For a moment, he seemed to be scrutinizing her, though he quickly relented and shook her hand. Of particular note to her was that he wasn't quite as warm as Tsumugi felt, though he still seemed surprised by how cold she was. He raised his eyebrows for a moment, but didn't make a comment until he let go. "You seem kind of... unsteady. Are you okay?"

Kaede looked down for a moment. "Um, well... I'm just getting used to this body." She said awkwardly. 

At that, Rantaro squinted, but didn't ask any more questions. "Alright, then. I might be here for a bit longer, so you should hurry and go if you want to catch up with everyone else." He smiled reassuringly, pulling his phone back out. "Don't let me slow you down."

"Well... okay! I'll see you later, then." Kaede waved back at him as she rushed out of the gym, pulling the map up on her own phone. She smiled, thinking about her new friends. And soon enough, she'd have even more! Coming to this planet was surely going to be worth it.


	2. Chapter 2

A day after the opening ceremony, and already things were getting chaotic. In class 53 especially, everyone seemed to be having a hard time settling down, with voices both excited and troubled yelling out in the classroom as the day went on. Kaede, for her part, did her best to pay attention to the teachers, but between her still being unused to her human form and the fact that more than just a few of her classmates kept making inappropriate comments at inappropriate times, it was hard for her to focus. When classes finally ended, she felt like she hadn't actually learned anything. It was still the first day, so maybe she just had to wait a little longer...?

Considering this, she picked her backpack up off the floor, feeling something a little off about it. For some reason, it felt somewhat lighter than it had been earlier... Like something had been taken out of it. Had she been robbed without even realizing it? She didn't recall anyone coming over to her desk over the course of the day, though... She took a peek in her bag, seeing that everything was in place except for her snack box. Why would anyone want to steal that?

Confused, she looked around the classroom, seeing that a good chunk of the students had or were preparing to leave. There was a group of three girls that seemed suspect- one of them was sitting at a desk, and the other two were looking at her with varying levels of concern on their faces.

Kaede got up from her desk, making sure to take her backpack with her as she moved over to the side of the room where the three were gathered. Getting closer, she saw that the red-haired girl was clearly in distress- her catlike ears were folded back, and her tail was curled between her legs. She seemed to be groaning in pain, and was resting her head on the desk.

The other two girls- an energetic one with floppy dog ears and an expressive tail to match, and a girl with bird wings and talons in place of human arms and legs- were surrounding her, offering encouragement and comfort, to which the red-haired girl barely responded.

"What's going on here?" Kaede asked, unsure of what to make of the situation. 

Immediately, the energetic doglike girl turned to her, with a fierce look in her eyes. "Himiko over here ate something truly revolting, and now she feels awful!" She barked into Kaede's face. "So if you'll excuse me, I need to get her to the infirmary!"

The calmer birdlike girl dressed in yellow didn't seem quite as concerned, given the unwavering smile on her face. "Tenko, you really shouldn't be so loud around Himiko. God says that the food poisoning will pass on its own within a few days, anyways." She chirped confidently. "So there's really no need to get so worked up!"

"She still feels totally down in the dumps, though! I can't just leave her alone when she's like this!"

"Being so dedicated to someone you just met a day ago... That can be dangerous, you know."

For a moment, Kaede watched the two go back and forth, before the red-haired girl- Himiko, her name was- weakly yelled at both of them. "Leave me alone... My MP is all gone, so I can't cast Cure on myself yet..." She groaned, one of her ears twitching.

This was certainly a strange group, that was for sure. "Um... If you don't mind me asking, what exactly did you eat that was so bad?" Kaede asked Himiko.

"I don't even know what it was..." She griped, eyeing Kaede. "I thought it was some kind of foreign candy, but it tasted so weird... Uuuugh."

Kaede sighed, now knowing exactly what was going on here. Somehow, this cat had stolen her snacks, and was now paying the price. Earth bodies weren't supposed to be eating that kind of food... There were still some things that she didn't understand about this situation, though. For one, how did she even get into her bag to steal her snacks? And second, why did she keep eating it, despite the taste?

"Your name's Himiko, right?" Kaede began to question her. "Er... how and why did you choose to steal my food specifically?"

"It's really easy for me..." Himiko explained in between her groans. "I'm a fairy. A cait sith. So I just used my magic to warp it over to me." She didn't seem the least bit guilty, though she certainly seemed to regret it. "...Why do you eat that stuff?"

Again, Kaede sighed, hearing the other two girls' arguing getting louder. "Can you give me back my snack box, please?" She dodged Himiko's question. "...And any of my other snacks, if you still have them?"

"...Okay." Himiko weakly tossed her the snack box, then looked back up at the two who were arguing. "Tenko, Angie... please go away. You're making my headache worse."

The girl with the dog ears- Tenko- seemed shocked by this, then bowed in apology. "I'm so sorry, Himiko! I'll quiet down just for you!"

The other girl- Angie- wasn't as perturbed, instead choosing to back off. "That's okay. I have some important work to do, anyways!" She said, waving goodbye and slipping out of the classroom. "So... bye-onara, see you later!"

Tenko growled at the harpy, then bent down to Himiko's eye level, her expression softening. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Yes, I will." Himiko retorted, immensely frustrated. "I don't need to be protected. I just need a nap."

"...Well, okay then." Tenko almost sounded disappointed. "But if you ever need me to chase any degenerates off for you, then just let me know! On my pride as both a Neo Aikido master and a cu sith, I'll take care of whoever bothers you!"

Kaede tuned out the rest of the conversation, putting her snack box back in her backpack and putting it over her shoulders. It was time for her to get going. She began to walk out of the classroom, her steps a little less unsteady than they were yesterday.

* * *

For some reason, that night, Kaede was having trouble falling asleep. It was pretty quiet, all things considered. The only thing that stood out was just how bright the full moon was. Maybe that was why she couldn't sleep...

All of a sudden, a loud howl pierced the silence. Kaede shot up, startled by the loud noise. It sounded like it came from right outside the dorms... Were there wild animals roaming academy grounds? If that was true, then the claim of campus grounds being safer than the outside certainly wasn't true. With both a mix of curiosity and impulsiveness, Kaede snuck out of the dorms, preparing to come face to face with a vicious animal.

As she opened the door outside, she looked around the area, not seeing anything of note yet. Not a soul was lingering that she could see. Yet, she still got the feeling that she was being watched... Rather than worry about it, however, she began to walk around to the back of the building, taking extra care to not trip on anything.

Rounding a corner, she began to hear two voices conversing, one sounding deathly serious and the other more casual. She couldn't quite make out what they were saying, so she moved a little closer, peeking her head out to listen to the two of them.

"You're an idiot, you know that? Not only are you going to wake everyone up with your howling, but you'll attract unwanted attention."

"Hey, I can't help it!" Upon further listening, this deeper voice sounded more beastly. "I'm a werewolf. Gotta howl at the moon and all that."

"And I always have to drink blood from humans every time I see them. Am I going to have to muzzle you?"

"I'd like to see you try!"

It seemed like the two of them were arguing about the howling from earlier. That howl must have come from the werewolf- no wild animals to be seen here. Relieved, she turned to go back to her dorm before hearing the serious voice speak again, this time directed at her. "Who's there?!"

The sudden call out almost made Kaede trip, though she was able to steady herself in time to face the person who was speaking to her- a girl with piercing red eyes and long hair in twin ponytails. "Sorry! I heard the howling and got worried, so..."

"Tch. Do you want to die?" The girl said harshly, giving Kaede a glimpse of her sharpened teeth. She must have been a vampire. "You shouldn't be out this late at night. It's _dangerous_."

Her efforts to be intimidating ultimately didn't work on the outer entity. "Ah, I can handle myself... I was just about to go back to bed, anyways." She said, trying to alleviate this girl's worries.

"Yo, Maki. You done here? If so, I'm just gonna go do my thing..." The werewolf approached them. He actually looked scarier than this vampire girl. However, he was promptly shut up by a glare from Maki.

"Both of you, shut up and listen to me. You especially, Kaito." Maki instructed scathingly. "Neither of you should be out at night so brazenly. I don't know what your deal is, but neither one of you are as well-prepared as you think you are." She pointed to Kaede, then to Kaito. "If you have to be out at night, be sneaky and make it quick."

"Wait, what?" Kaede was confused by her statement. "But it's supposed to be safe here, isn't it?"

Maki glared at Kaede as if she had said something irredeemably stupid. "You don't get it? Fine. I'll just tell you outright." She glanced at Kaito to make sure he was listening, as well. "I've found evidence of a hunter on school grounds. Whoever they are, they must have infiltrated the student body somehow. So, like I said, _don't_ go out at night unless you absolutely have to."

The air stilled around them. Kaede wasn't sure what to think- was there really a monster hunter hidden within the students? ...No, there couldn't be. Even if some... if all of them were strange and chaotic, Kaede couldn't bring herself to suspect any of them.

That didn't stop her mind from continually wandering to that suspicion as she crawled back into bed, however. At least she was able to finally fall asleep for the first time that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> new chapter is up! we've still got more students to meet, so look forward to that in the next few chapters. and feel free to let me know what you guys think, too!


End file.
